ADMINISTRATION USES RECESS WEEK TO PUSH TRANSPO: Lawmakers are back home for the Independence Day recess, but that’s not stopping the administration from ramping up its calls for Congress to act on the Highway Trust Fund. President Barack Obama stood near the Key Bridge yesterday to prod lawmakers, and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx warned states that reimbursements will start being reduced and slowed down in a month’s time. Foxx also sets off for Kentucky and Rhode Island today and tomorrow for a pair of press conferences at state capitols to talk about how the trust fund’s looming insolvency will affect states. He appears with Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear today in Frankfort, and tomorrow the secretary joins Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee in Providence. Kevin has more for Pros: http://politico.pro/1iSnmVh

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The bear is still loose: Obama is still saying what’s on his mind — even if it’s not the kindest to Congress. “I haven’t heard a good reason for why they haven’t acted,” Obama said of lawmakers. “It’s not like they’re busy with other stuff.” Kevin again: http://politico.pro/1lx4O7c

Payments to slow in August: Faced with falling balances in the Highway Trust Fund and a Congress that seems content waiting until the last minute to deal with the situation, the DOT end same-day reimbursements starting on August 1. Unless Congress acts before then, starting in a month, payments will be made every two weeks (instead of every day) and will be pro-rated based on federal formulas and the available money from dwindling gas tax receipts. The notices of the first reduced payment amount will go to states on August 11. DOT will also clamp down on “travel and administrative spending until these issues are resolved,” Foxx wrote.

A similar letter went out to transit agencies, but that account will stay solvent for several more months so there’s isn’t a definitive date for implementing a cash management system, though Foxx noted that account will face troubles in October. “There is no good option when we're talking about a trust fund that is running out of dollars,” Foxx said yesterday at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast. See the letter to state DOTs ( http://1.usa.gov/1pGQRMv) and transit stakeholders ( http://1.usa.gov/Tzy3zx).

Congressional reaction: Sen. Rand Paul once again promoted repatriation as a transportation pay-for, and Budget Chair Patty Murray said that “I hope Republicans find a way to push the Tea Party aside and avoid this crisis.”

Devil’s advocate: Citing CBO testimony that states only draw about a quarter of their transportation funds from the federal government, Heritage Action communications head Dan Holler said that “Americans are not facing some sort of highway shutdown during peak driving season.”

FIRST IN MT — Markey, Blumenthal want info from NHTSA: The pair of senators who are vocal on safety issues have written acting NHTSA head David Freidman asking for information on how the agency ensures compliance with its early warning system and how it responds to defect petitions. Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, in a letter sent this morning, ask for a detailed list of every defect or recall petition filed since 1990, noting that the agency is supposed to respond to all petitions within 120 days. They also wrote that a Center for Auto Safety study finding automakers vary on early warning reporting rates could “reflect differences” in compliance with the warning system. The Massachusetts and Connecticut senators asked for a reply by July 25. At the CSM breakfast yesterday, Foxx said that NHTSA is doing a good job in the wake of the GM recall: “We're going to keep putting the screws on this until it gets right.” White House press secretary Josh Earnest says the administration is open to agency reforms (The Hill: http://bit.ly/1miawzP).

GOOD MORNING. IT’S WEDNESDAY, JULY 2. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where it’s been 77 years since pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting the first-ever flight around the world at the equator. Please drop me a line: asnider@politico.com. There’s more on Twitter: @ AdamKSnider and @ POLITICOPro.

“There’s no flights home today and no services out on the motorway…” http://bit.ly/1xcqfmy (h/t Matt Daily)

HOT TOPIC — Garamendi writes on oil trains: California Democratic Rep. and T&I member John Garamendi is the latest to call for action to address shipments of crude oil by train. In a letter to Secretary Foxx, Garamendi asks how well railroads and the oil industry have complied with an order to share info on their shipments, requests that DOT mandate that the “most volatile elements from Bakken crude” be removed before shipping and asks for an expedited rulemaking to phase out the old round of tank cars. Read it: http://1.usa.gov/1qPcUOa

BEFORE YOU GO PARASAILING THIS HOLIDAY… It might look like a fun way to get a great view on your next beach vacation — and some of you might plan to do it in the coming days — but the NTSB says that parasailing is “largely unregulated with serious accidents frequently caused by faulty equipment.” A new agency report looks at eight accidents that caused eight deaths and five injuries. NTSB said it has concerns about the boats staying out in bad weather, insufficient safety equipment and too-weak tow lines. “An afternoon of parasailing can have tragic results if something as simple as a weak towline, strong winds, or a worn harness causes a serious accident,” said acting NTSB head Christopher A. Hart. “It is crucial that operators are competent and aware of all the risks associated with parasailing.” See the report: http://1.usa.gov/1rd5czF

BOEHNER: NO ‘BRIDGE TO NOWHERE’: House Speaker John Boehner, who will have a new leadership team come the end of the month, has a new video reiterating his opposition to earmarks, citing previous appropriations, surface transportation and water bills that were free of the member-directed spending that a number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle still support. “Remember earmarks? The ‘bridge to nowhere’? The days when politicians couldn’t spend your money fast enough on pet projects?” Boehner’s office wrote in an email promoting the video, which features clips of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying earmarks will come back: http://bit.ly/1mQJsH5

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- Labor negotiations continue even though the contract for 20,000 West Coast port workers expired last night. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1xeGCio

- Scott Wong has more on how the Syrian bomb threats could lead to even more frustrated fliers if airports screening ramps up: http://politico.pro/1o0fvkr

THE COUNTDOWN: MAP-21 expires and DOT funding runs out in 91 days. FAA policy is up in 456 days. The mid-term elections are in 125 days and the 2016 presidential election is in 860 days.

CABOOSE — Flooded out: This gem of a picture from April 30, 1923, in D.C., shows a flooded Treasury railcar and some nearly century-old graffiti. Check in out on Shorpy, and as always you can click to enlarge to see it close up: http://bit.ly/1jHpbil

**A message from POWERJobs: The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is seeking a Director of Political Affairs for its Washington, D.C. office. This person will help grown the Truck PAC for ATA, the nation’s leading trade and lobby association representing the trucking industry. They will track developments in Federal races for the U.S. Senate and House and coordinate Truck PAC political contribution strategy, as well as manage major events at annual meetings. Click here for details.**

** A message from the U.S. Travel Association: To make America competitive again, we need to be connected, to each other and the world. America has zero airports ranked in the top 25 globally, and that's more than just an embarrassment—it's a missed opportunity. Travel is critical to our country's trade balance, since it accounts for ten percent of all exports, and supports one in nine American jobs. If we're not connected through modern airports, America loses out. Investment in our country's infrastructure is an investment in connectivity, which is vital for our people, our economy, and our place on the global stage. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1QLPK5L **

Authors:

About The Author

Adam Snider is a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro and author of Morning Transportation. He has covered transportation since 2007, joining POLITICO in 2011 to launch MT and later found the word “Mica-ism.”

Snider is a fan of all modes of transportation, though nothing beats a good silly walk. In his spare time, he can be found brewing a hoppy beer, rooting for the Nationals, watching a bad 1970s horror movie or exploring the District from his home base in Mount Pleasant.

Adam studied English and communications at Clemson University in South Carolina. His work has been featured by Nieman Journalism Lab and his snark has appeared on MSNBC. He has had several works of fiction published in literary journals and is constantly reminded of his proclamation to a fiction professor many years ago that journalism is for sellouts who abandon their creative dreams.